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Man-machine interface for modular robot systems

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Abstract

A modular robot is composed of multiple modules, each comprising a sensor, an actuator, and a control system. Each module accumulates information about its own sensor, actuator, and connections to other modules, as well as communication information between adjoining modules. The user obtains this information via an interface, and can thus recognize the state of the robot and issue commands. However, when the number of modules becomes large, the amount of information sent from the modules becomes too much for the user to deal with effectively. Naturally, it also becomes more difficult for the user to issue commands to the modular robot as the number of modules increases. In this study, we developed an interface to present, in a simple manner, information aggregated in a certain module from other modules, and we examined its effectiveness in a modular robot composed of these modules.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofu-ga-oka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan

    Tomotsugu Goto & Masafumi Uchida

  2. Meisei University, Tokyo, Japan

    Akio Nozawa

  3. Aoyama Gakuin University, Kanagawa, Japan

    Hirotoshi Asano & Hideto Ide

  4. Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

    Hitoshi Onogaki & Syuichi Yokoyama

  5. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ibaraki, Japan

    Tota Mizuno

Authors
  1. Tomotsugu Goto
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  2. Masafumi Uchida
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  3. Hirotoshi Asano
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  4. Akio Nozawa
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  5. Hitoshi Onogaki
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  6. Tota Mizuno
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  7. Hideto Ide
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  8. Syuichi Yokoyama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masafumi Uchida.

Additional information

This work was presented in part at the 14th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, February 5–7, 2009

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Goto, T., Uchida, M., Asano, H. et al. Man-machine interface for modular robot systems. Artif Life Robotics 14, 209 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-009-0655-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-009-0655-4

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